City to increase Ebola monitoring after first local case

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaking during a news conference at Bellevue Hospital to discuss Craig Spencer, the first Ebola case in the city.

Three people who have had direct contact with the city's first Ebola patient, including the man's fiancée, have been quarantined by city officials, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a briefing Friday.

In addition, the city will now monitor all passengers who arrive in New York from any of the three Ebola-stricken West African countries under new guidelines released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That will include checking temperatures for all passengers from those countries at the airport, and keeping in daily contact with them if they are released to their homes.

The city's medical detectives are also retracing the steps taken by Dr. Craig Spencer in the days since he has returned to New York from Guinea, where he contracted Ebola while working for Doctors Without Borders. People who have had direct contact with Dr. Spencer's bodily fluids are the only ones who are at risk of contracting the disease, health officials said.

Two businesses visited by Dr. Spencer—the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg and a Blue Bottle Coffee stand on the High Line—were assessed and cleared by the city's health inspectors. A third business, the Meatball Shop in Greenwich Village, is still closed and being screened.

An Uber driver who took Dr. Spencer to the bowling alley was interviewed and cleared as well. The driver had had no contact with the doctor because the transaction was made via smartphone.

Dr. Spencer was said to be in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital and occasionally using a cellphone to reach out to those he may have been in contact with to help health inspectors retrace his steps. Mr. de Blasio and his health officials hailed the recent news that Nina Pham, the Dallas nurse who had contracted Ebola, was free of the disease and feeling healthier.

Amidst the flurry of questions raised about the city's first confirmed case of the deadly virus, Mr. de Blasio sought to project an image of a city government in control of the potentially chaotic situation.

"We're fully prepared to handle Ebola," the mayor said, noting the months of preparation by city and hospital officials.

"It is a global city," said Dr. Ramanathan Raju, president and chief executive of the city's Health and Hospitals Corp. "We knew one day we would get a patient with Ebola."

Individuals who have traveled to any of the affected countries and feel like they may be symptomatic should call 911 or visit the nearest emergency room. Immigration status should not be a deterrent, nor questions about the ability to pay for medical care, Mr. de Blasio said.

"This is a public health crisis," he added. "We insist on the public's cooperation in terms of knowing where someone's been and if they have any symptoms. And we have the ability to enforce if need be."

Still, the city is only now taking the steps to increase its monitoring of anyone who has visited an Ebola-affected country in Africa since Dr. Spencer has been hospitalized. And the doctor's path since returning to New York is still being traced, with the city promising to release a more detailed timeline later on Friday.

Asked whether any additional restrictions in terms of travel should be considered, Mr. de Blasio said the city's current protocols were "the right way" at this time.

After reports that Dr. Spencer had ridden the A, L and 1 trains before being hospitalized, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a statement tamping down fears about riding the subway.

"The MTA New York City Subway system is safe to ride," the statement read. "The person diagnosed with Ebola in New York City rode the subway several times since returning from abroad, but the state and city health commissioners agree there was no risk to any other subway customers or any MTA employees."

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